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Michael De Santa
Michael is a character in the Grand Theft Auto Series who will be appearing in the newest Grand Theft Auto game, Grand Theft Auto V as one of the three playable characters Background Early Life Michael was born somewhere in the East Coast and during some point in his young life he became a bank robber. Through the years of his criminal career, he was highly successful at his job. Whilst young, Michael somehow ran into an ex-military pilot named Trevor Phillips, who also had a flare for criminal acts and the two became close friends, performing several major heists in the past. Sometime later, Michael decided to retire from the criminal underworld by making a "sweetheart deal" with the FIB to place him in the witness protection program along with his wife Amanda - whom he met and married moments before this happened - and his two children, Jimmy and Tracy. Events Of GTA V A few years later, Michael is a middle age man living in a large mansion in the most exclusive neighborhood in Los Santos named Rockford Hills along with his attractive younger wife Amanda and their two children. There mansion is fitted out with a swimming pool in the backyard, a private tennis court, and more finer things. While Michael thought he could buy his way into a life worth living, forsaking his past for the hope of domestic bliss while also being described as the GTA protagonist who won, it soon turned out that he was dead wrong. In reality, Michael hates his wife Amanda (who reciprocates - experiences the same love - the feeling and lost interest in him as well). The only comfort she can seek is in malls and posh boutique stores in Los Santos, where she can spend Michael's money on items and clothes she wants. It doesn't get any better when referring to Michael's children, as they have little to no time for him and he doesn't have the slighest idea of how to communicate or understand them. Even Trevor had a huge falling out with Michael, which caused a major rift in their friendship. With his money running out and his domestic life driving him crazy, Michael decides to return to the life of crime. His personal story is about how the breakdown of his bought idyllic life pushes a man to breaking point. michael is described as a man with everything and nothing to lose both at the same time. He escaped from the criminal world with his fortune and freedom intact. Yet, he’s miserable and bored, trapped in a loveless marriage he can’t leave because he’s basically in witness protection. It should also be said that Michael's seemingly blissful existence in San Andreas will be changed forever by the events of GTA V. Development of Michael When Rockstar created Michael, there idea was that Michael would be an older protagonist who was very successful but gets sucked back into the game. Rockstar knew that the story of Michael would be a great one with a lot of freshness to it -just like Grand Theft Auto IV's story of Niko Bellic as an immigrant. Personality The good side of Michael is that he's thoughtful, calculated and likely to keep his motives hidden (these traits are the things that kept Michael alive during his time as a criminal). The bad side of Michael is his large ego, an inability to control his temper and his willingness to make large moral compromises, (Michael's deal made with the FIB is a perfect example of that). Another bad thing about Michael is that he hasn't been a good husband or father over the last few years. As stated above he has a horrible family that he wants to leave but can't for specific reasons and has access to all the pleasures in the world but is bored. Dan Houser has also stated that despite seeming to be the good guy (at least compared to Trevor), he might end up being worse than Trevor in the end. This similar of how Max Payne's depressed life began in the story of the Max payne series. Relationship With Other Characters Family *Amanda - Amanda's relationship with Michael also started in an unknown time. The two fell in love with one another, got married and had two children. During the events of the game, she has lost interest in Michael and can barely tolerate him anymore, (mainly because Dan Houser also confirmed that Michael has been awful to her in the past few years). One of the reasons she fell in love with Michael is because she is bound to him by their past lives, but now both of them can't stand each other anymore (Another statement by Dan Houser). *Jimmy - Jimmy's relationship with his father is rocky as well and even though Michael is far from perfect, so is his son. They've both got a confused and awful relationship with each other. This was seen in the second trailer when Jimmy says the words, "Hey, let's bounce.", to which Michael is a tad bit lost by his son's choice of words and says "Bounce, we're bouncing now?" *Tracy - Michael's relationship with his daughter was also said to be weak, by Rockstar, though the second trailer, her first appearance, didn't show any dialogue with Michael. According to Dan Houser, they barely talk anymore. If they do talk it is either them bickering with each other. Friends *Trevor - Trevor's relationship with Michael started at an unknown time period, but the two had a hard friendship with one another. Their relationship was great until both men had a falling out which caused a rift in between their friendship (some believe that it was Michael's deal with the FIB that caused that rift). Since that brief rift, it caused both men to stay friends but with a troubled relationship with one another. When the two old buddies see each other, they often bicker a lot. *Franklin - After meeting one another, Franklin and Michael began this father-son relationship with Michael holding some affection for Franklin, and saw potential and a younger Michael in Franklin, and Franklin doesn't really have a family but wants to move up in the criminal underworld but at the same time, doesn't know how to do so. So, he saw his way in after meeting Michael. Dan Houser has also stated in one interview that the father-son relationship between the two could lead to some "interesting situations." *Brad - During the mission The Extraction, it was said by Game Informer that Michael and Trevor had different intentions about their friend Brad, as Trevor agreed to do the mission if the FIB released Brad from prison, to which Michael says to Trevor, "We'll talk about Brad later." Dan Houser's Take On Michael "Michael, to me, is... Who is he? I know who he is, I'm just trying to... He's the person who is trying to ignore some rather large mistakes that they have made. The person who's trying to forget about certain practical but still selfish decisions that they took. He's a man, also, obsessed by images and by appearances and who, when the world doesn't live up to those images and appearances, doesn't know what to do. He just retreats into his head. What he also is, when we started out... What he kind of evolved into as we began thinking about him and developing him... He was the first character we came up with. He began as the idea of, what happens to a regular GTA protagonist after they retire? Then you think, what would make him retire? He's a man with a big ego and plenty of good values and plenty of bad values." "A guy who's in his mid-40s and on the cusp of middle age who doesn't know what to do, but made a bunch of money and does not know what to do with it. He's theoretically won, but the spoils of victory aren't necessarily what he imagined. For us that's a very interesting character, unlike what we've done in the past or what we've seen in much entertainment in general, let alone any video games. That was interesting." "He's the person who is trying to ignore some rather large mistakes that they have made. The person who's trying to forget about certain practical but still selfish decisions that they took. He's a man, also, obsessed by images and by appearances and who, when the world doesn't live up to those images and appearances, doesn't know what to do. He just retreats into his head." "Michael's flaws are certainly his large ego, an inability to control his temper, and his willingness to make large moral compromises. To me, that's a very interesting character. A guy who's in his mid-40s and on the cusp of middle age who doesn't know what to do, but made a bunch of money and does not know what to do with it. He's theoretically won, but the spoils of victory aren't necessarily what he imagined. For us that's a very interesting character, unlike what we've done in the past or what we've seen in much entertainment in general, let alone any video games. That was interesting." Mission Appearances *Since Michael is one of three protagonist in GTA V, he will appear in almost every mission in the game. Skills and Attributes As an experienced bank robber, he’s skilled in planning the complex heists that make up the structure for the single-player story and is a smooth operator as well as the brains of the team. In the cutscenes that Game Informer saw, Michael appears to be the team’s leader – although neither of his partners were easily led. He’s good with a gun, and though older now, still capable of tackling challenging tasks like rappelling out of a helicopter onto a skyscraper. During the second trailer, Michael demonstrated great driving skills, managing to save his son, who was hanging onto a large boat on the top of a tow truck while losing his grip. Just like Trevor and Franklin he is also the master of greed, ambition and insanity. Dan Houser has stated that, "He is always good at what he does, steal, kill, but he does not want to fall back into its failings." Apperance Michael has a nice clean-cut appearance, along with nice clothes, usually seen in screenshots and artworks with a gray, black or dark blue dress suit with a light green or white dress shirt underneath. In the "Michael, Franklin and Trevor" artwork he is seen dressed with a creamy-yellow collared shirt with blue dress pants. During the opening scene in the second trailer, Michael walks outside to his pool with nothing on but sandals, swimming trunks and a pair of glasses, showing us that he is a small portion over weight but still in good shape. Reception Michael has had a very positive responses from critics and fans, one of the reason is because of him being the first playable character in the entire GTA Series that has a family. Another reason is that he is much like Tommy Vercetti, or Carl Johnson who have already lived there lives out as an highly professional criminal and gotten rich off of it. Trivia *Michael was the first protagonist that came to Rockstar's mind when they began the development of Grand Theft Auto V. *Michael is the only protagonist in the entire series to be a family man. *Michael is the oldest Protagonist in the entire GTA Series. Gallery Artwork Official-gta-v-artwork-pest-control.jpg|Michael, (the one on the right) in the artwork "Pest Control". Trevor, Franklin & Michael.jpg|Michael (to the far left) in the artwork "Trevor, Franklin. & Michael". Vinewood_Artwork.jpg|Michael in the artwork "Vinewood". The_Trunk.jpg|Michael in the artwork "The Trunk". Screenshots Transport_Screenshot.jpg|Michael in the cockpit of a jet, flying around Los Santos. Michael_playing_tennis.jpg|Michael (on the bottom left) playing tennis. Michael_Making_a_Call.jpg|Michael on his iFruit Phone. Michael_in_the_Extraction.jpg|Michael (on the far right) in the mission The Extraction. Michael_Taking_Down_a_Heli.jpg|Michael shooting a helicopter out of the sky in The Extraction. Michael_Rappelling.jpg|Michael rappelling down the IAA building in The Extraction Sources *Game Informer *IGN *The Examiner Category:Grand Theft Auto Characters Category:Characters in Grand Theft Auto V Category:Protagonists Category:Protagonists in GTA V Category:Friends in Grand Theft Auto V Category:Unreleased